Bryan Formhals (born October 18, 1976)[1] is an American photographer and editor, based in New York City. He co-edited the book Photographers' Sketchbooks (2014).[2]

Life and work edit

Formhals was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota.[1][3] He earned a degree in communication and journalism at nearby Saint John's University, Collegeville in 1999.[1] He moved to Minneapolis and got a job working for a web company, transferring west to Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California in 2004.[1][3][4] In LA he took a class at The Second City doing improvisational comedy and wrote a screenplay.[1] In 2005, unhappy with his screenplay and experiencing writer's block, he began taking photographs while walking around Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles.[1][5][6] This resulted in the series Genesee Ave.[7] In 2009 he moved east to New York City, first to Greenpoint, Brooklyn and then in 2012 to Astoria, Queens.[3]

In 2010 Wired highlighted Formhals as one of its "Favorite Photobloggers" for his blog La Pura Vida.[8] He founded and was managing editor of LPV Magazine,[9][10] curating documentary and fine-art photography[11] in print for 7 issues between 2011 and 2013 and on the web.[1] Time included Formhals' LPV Magazine Twitter feed in its "140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2013".[11] In 2015/2016 he was host and co-creator, with Tom Starkweather and Eddy Vallante, of The LPV Show,[12] a conversational podcast about photography books. LPV Show guests included Khalik Allah, Mathieu Asselin, Richard Bram, Noah Kalina, Susan Meiselas, Greg Miller, Elle Pérez, Gus Powell, Ken Schles and Rachel Sussman.[13] In 2014, Formhals and Stephen McLaren co-edited Photographers' Sketchbooks, described in The Independent as a "meticulously researched book [that] offers a fascinating insight into the work and methods of more than 50 photographers."[14]

Formhals is currently focused on "walking, pedestrian infrastructure, and urban greenery" in New York City through photography, a weekly newsletter, and a conversational podcast made with Starkweather called Way of the Walk.[3][15]

He has earned a living as content strategist and managing the social media team at B&H Photo,[1] and as senior content marketing manager at Shutterstock[16] and Adorama.[17]

Publications edited by Formhals edit

  • Photographers' Sketchbooks. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2014. Co-edited and with essays by Formhals and Stephen McLaren. ISBN 978-0500544341.[18][19]

Exhibitions edit

  • Common Ground: New American Street Photography, New Orleans Photo Alliance Gallery, New Orleans, February–March 2013;[20] drkrm, Los Angeles, July 2013.[21][22] Curated by Stephen McLaren. With work by Blake Andrews, Richard Bram, Formhals, Chuck Patch and Jack Simon.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "The Bryan Formhals Mixtape". lenscratch.com. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  2. ^ Teicher, Jordan G. (1 February 2015). "A Glimpse Into the Sketchbooks of Professional Photographers". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  3. ^ a b c d Leland, John (6 February 2016). "A Journey Through Queens With the Photographer Bryan Formhals". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  4. ^ "Bryan Formhals whisks us away to the palm-flanked streets of LA". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  5. ^ "Interview with Bryan Formhals, editor of Street Photography Magazine la pura vida". Eric Kim. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  6. ^ "On the Red Couch with Photographer/LPV Show Host Bryan Formhals". Flipboard. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  7. ^ Baldwin, Rosecrans (6 January 2014). "Waiting for an Intervention". The Morning News (online magazine). Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  8. ^ Brook, Pete (10 November 2010). "Get to Know Our Favorite Photobloggers". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  9. ^ "LPV Magazine – curated photo exhibit coming to your mailbox". Artblog. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  10. ^ "10 Photographers You Should Ignore". Wired. 29 March 2012. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  11. ^ a b Lombard, Amy (20 March 2013). "The 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2013". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  12. ^ "Listen To Me and LPV Natter about Prisons, Photo and Peter Van Agtmael's Book-Genius-ness". prisonphotography.org. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  13. ^ "The LPV Show". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  14. ^ "Books of the year 2014: The best photography books". The Independent. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  15. ^ "Bryan Formhals". Bryan Formhals. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  16. ^ Formhals, Bryan. "Bryan Formhals, Author at The Shutterstock Blog". Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  17. ^ "Bryan Formhals" (PDF). Bryan Formhals. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  18. ^ "The best coffee table books out now". The Telegraph. 22 July 2015. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  19. ^ "Mixed Media". The RPS Journal. 154: 753. December 2014. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  20. ^ "Common Ground – New Orleans Photo Alliance Takes It to the Street with five photographers". Artblog. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  21. ^ "Common Ground: New American Street Photography at drkrm". lenscratch.com. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  22. ^ "Common Ground: New American Street Photography". www.drkrm.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.

External links edit